It will be the elections that will determine Chen Shuibian's success as the president whose party ended 55 years of Nationalist Party rule in May 2000.

Analysts are also saying that it will likely be the wackiest legislative elections in a long time what with candidates ranging from a jailbird to one who believes that Taiwan should be America's 51st state.

There are a total of 225 seats at stake in these elections. How many seats will the KMT be contesting?

• All Taiwan citizens aged over 20 are automatically registered to vote.
• The Central Election Commission has not completed its count of voters eligible in this election, but the number stood at 15.46 million out of a population of 23 million in 2000.
• Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (0000 GMT to 0800 GMT) and votes are counted immediately after stations close.